FremantleMedia and Random House, both owned by the media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, have joined up to launch Random House Television. This will serve as a platform for creating, developing, and otherwise producing televisual content based on Random House’s books. According to the press release announcing the new venture, “the partnership will also seek to collaborate with Random House authors to develop original scripted television properties they might create.”

Not that this is a new trend, current television shows such as True Blood, Dexter, Bones, and Gossip Girl all originated from books. George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, published by Random House, is enjoying success as an HBO series. This kind of venture may simply suggest stronger, more direct relationships among authors, publishers, and TV and movie organizations.

As suggested at the Toronto Star, it may be likely that viewers will eventually see more of Random House’s top-sellers, some of which have already been adapted for movies and shows, in television series format. However, Random House has not yet released information regarding which projects they have in mind for their books.

Sources: The Toronto Star, Galley Cat